An Autumn Evening!

I think the high yesterday was 73, and it was perfectly beautiful ~ clear blue skies and a soft breeze. I'm not sure if it was the weather or what it was, but I decided in the middle of the day yesterday that we were going to have a fun fall dinner. . . outside!!!!!!! So, I swept the back porch and cleaned off our outdoor table. Then I just played and played making it look festive and fun. JCT helped me make fall cupcakes during naptime, and after we picked up Joshua from school, we went to Wal-mart to pick out some mums and pumpkins to surprise Daddy with when he came home!

The finished product. . .


A close up of Lacy's YUMMY Salad. . .

And, what were the boys up to while I was so busy preparing dinner and table decorations. . .

They were playing with a frog. . .

Bless his poor little heart!

Watch Out David Crowder!!

It is a glimpse into the craziness that is my life! And, people wonder why it takes me a while to return phone calls!!!! I love this video because it is so Elijah, so, so, so Elijah right now. He is loud and he is confident.

Meal Plan Monday!!!

Let's just see if I can be faithful to do this each week!!!! It feels like fall today!!! There is a cool breeze, and a wonderful crispness to the air!! Yay, for highs in the 70's!!!!

Yesterday I beat myself up the entire way from Wal-mart to my house because I bought $5 worth of marked down roses. They look like the ones that I carried in my wedding, so I couldn't resist! But, I felt horribly guilty after I left the store. I thought of all the "better" ways I could have spent that $5 dollars. But, this morning as I looked at my table, my guilt evaporated!!! How worth it they were just so that I can feel all happy inside when I look at them!!!! See what I mean. . .

And, now for the weeks menu. . .

Monday ~ (Erik has a make-up high school football game and won't be joining us) :-( So, the boys and I will feast on whole wheat pita bread pizzas and fruit!!!!

Tuesday ~ Lacy's Salad :-) Spring greens, walnuts, chicken, strawberries, cranraisins, and a yummy dressing!!

Wednesday ~ Church Night ~ Sandwiches - Grilled cheese for boys; Tomato Sandwiches for Erik and I.

Thursday ~ Pork Tenderloin, sweet potatoes, green beans, and salad.

Friday ~ Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup ~ per Joshua's request with whole wheat bread!

Saturday ~ Eat out!!!!

Sunday ~ Leftover Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup!

Happy Cooking, Happy Eating, and Happy Fall, Ya'll!!!

Saturday Morning Smiles

I woke up and a smile came quickly to my face for several reasons. . . One reason being that it is Saturday, thus our family gets to be together all day! And, Erik makes the coffee (Bifferdoodle, of course) on the weekends, and his coffee tastes soooo much better than mine for some strange reason. Another being that I could hear the rain drops falling outside!! And, I love rainy days. According to Deana B (aka my favorite personal 24 hour news source), it has been raining for 10 days straight now. Last night as Erik and I drove through the gloomy weather to take the boys to enjoy their first Japanese dining experience (very fun after they got used to the large flames being so close to them! Ha!), he remarked on all the rain by saying that several people had told him lately that they just. needed. to. see. the. sun. I laughed and told him that I could totally live like this and never get tired of it!!!!!! I! love! rain!!!!!!! :-) The view from our breezeway this morning. . .

So, when I woke up to rain, I was happy, happy, happy! Then, after I got out of my bed due to a very happy and very awake baby ~ at 6:15 I might add, I saw the hat Erik surprised me with last night. You know when someone gives you a gift and every time you look at it you think, "Man, I really like that!" It is one of those gifts to me!!! I am going to wear it today! I love it so much! Here is why. . .

Isn't it cute???? And, with spiritual significance to-boot!

Then, as I was catching up on reading some blogs, I saw this video on Lots of Scotts! I showed it to Erik, and we laughed like children as we watched it! Hope it makes you smile! Now Erik and I are in search of tickets to see this guy live!! He is soooo funny!!!!!

And, if the video wasn't enough, the boys did something really funny! For breakfast this morning I made a cast iron skillet pancake (this is so easy ~ tastes a bit more like a crepe than a pancake, but we really like it! Super easy! Just melt 3T of butter in a cast iron skillet in a 425 degree oven. While it is melting, mix together 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of flour, and 2 eggs. Once the butter has melted pour batter in cast iron skillet and cook for 12-13 minutes. Warning: it looks really wrinkly and funny but tastes very good!!), eggs, and fresh cut up peach slices. All this to say, we had left over peach slices, and Erik set the boys free in the kitchen to cook.

They wanted to make "peach cobbler" for Erik and I to eat.

Scary, huh???

That is what I thought! Here is a picture of the finished product. . .

Imagine our surprise when we tasted it and. . .

it was really good!! Better than some real peach cobblers that I have tasted! And, I didn't even give them any guidance! The ingredients were as follows: fresh peaches, lots of sugar, and the secret ingredient. . . cheerios!!!!! They added whipped cream for presentation! Yum! Yum! Joshua suggested that I let them make dinner every night from now on! I wonder how long that enthusiasm will last. . .

Hmmmm. . .

My bet is until lunch!!!

Thank You, Jesus for rainy, peaceful, quiet, fun, Saturday mornings!!!!!!!

Minus 1

20-1 that is. Yes, Joshua is learning subtraction at school, but that is not what I am talking about.

I am talking about teeth! Joshua is now officially minus one tooth!!!! In other words, the night we got home from the beach he lost his first tooth!!!!!

It had been loose for over a week. And, everyday that he went to school with it loose I would say the same thing to him as I kissed him goodbye in the morning. . .

"Joshua, please DO NOT pull your tooth at school today. If it gets really loose, quit messing with it and wait until you get home. I want to be there when you lose it."

When he realized that his tooth was loose, he was excited to lose it at school. Evidently his teacher pulls their teeth and puts them in something that they can wear around their neck????? I'm not sure, but he wanted to lose his tooth at school. And, this bothered me because I did not want to miss it!!! So, I told him that he had 20 teeth, and he had plenty of teeth to lose at school. I wanted to be with him when he lost his first. When he realized that I. was. serious. about. it., he agreed. And, his tooth actually hung on much longer than I expected. . .

But, finally Daddy said, "Enough is enough," and he pulled that precious little emblem of babyhood out of my sweet son's mouth!

His sweet smile forever changed in an instant!!! Now he looks like this. . .

Here is a close up of the gap. . .

About a month ago, I had a feeling that it would not be long before he lost his first tooth, so I asked Erik to pick out a pillow for the boys to use. And, this is what he picked out. . .

Didn't he do a great job??? I love this sweet little pillow!!!

Another milestone.

My babies are growing up!!!!!

Santa Rosa Beach ~ 2009

I have fond memories of my parents waking my sister, brother, and I up before the sun to leave on vacations. I guess because I was excited about going wherever we were going I don't remember ever minding the early rising. I told the boys the night before that we were going to wake them up before the sun came up to leave for the beach.

They made me promise.

And, so I did. And, I delivered on that promise. Here they are early, early and happy, happy!!

When Erik reserved a beach house for us, he asked the resort for a three bedroom house. One room for Erik, Erik Daniel, and me, a second for my mom, and a third for Joshua, JCT, and Elijah to share. So, when we pulled up to a LARGE house, we were quite surprised!! The house had FOUR levels. Seriously ~ all for us!!! We only used the first two, but the boys enjoyed playing on the top two. The very top level was what Erik calls a crow's nest. It was one room with two beds and windows straight across on all four walls. Amazing. Then on the third level there were two beds a bath a couch a TV, etc. The second level was the kitchen, living room, and dining room. And, the first level had three bedroom and three full baths. This is what this particular resort considers a "three bedroom." It would have comfortably slept 13. I counted, and my mom checked my math, and Erik double checked it. The boys were in heaven running from one end of the house to the other! They slept on bunk beds in the hall on the first floor. They were built into the hall ~ so cute but hard to explain.




We haven't (cringe) been to the beach since Joshua was 18 months old. I know, I know that is not good. But, we don't live close, and we have vacationed other places. Anyway, it was awesomely fun to introduce our boys to the ocean at the ages that they are!! We didn't waste anytime unpacking and settling in. No, we headed straight for an evening stroll on the beach! At first they kinda tip-toed around. . .


The ocean is amazing, really, it is. The roar of the waves, the beauty of the water, the softness of the sand. . . It is a lot to take in especially when you are four and you think a lot. . .

It was a joy to see it all through their eyes!

Elijah was a little nervous about the water, but he liked the sand a great deal. . .


We had to tear the big boys away from the water! They loved it! I couldn't wait to bring them back in the morning!!!!!!!!

Every night, well, almost every night, I tell the boys a "Donald" story. One day I'll write a post about what that means and maybe even share with you a few of the horrible messes that Donald has gotten himself into! Needless to say, he is a fictional character that I made up, and each night I make up a new adventure for Donald to go on just to entertain two adorable little red-headed boys! My mom took this picture of me on our first evening at the beach telling the boys their Donald story before bed. I was doing my best to settle them down so they would actually sleep before it was time to get up and go play! I wanted happy rested boys to play with at the beach!!!!!!!!

Well, the next morning came before I knew it, and there were three happy rested boys running around our enormous house!! Here they are swinging on the, for a lack of better words, porch bed swing on our second story porch!!! Seriously!!! If you count it, the house would sleep 15!!! But, Florida is much too hot for sleeping outside - even in September!! :-)

My mom stayed at the beach house with Erik Daniel while Erik and I played with the big 3!! Elijah was in heaven with the worlds largest sandbox at his disposal!!!!He wouldn't let me carry him into the ocean, but he would let Erik. I am still processing this. . . Does he not trust me? What did I do? I'm telling myself that it is because Erik is taller and farther from the water!!! Anyway, by later in the day, he was going fishy-fishying around in the water like it was a pool!
And, here is my big man, JCT, ready for some serious beach action. . .

JCT actually loves sharks. He can tell you all about them. I have to read him books about them, but they are not a favorite of mine. I thought his obsession with sharks might keep him from going very deep into the water. But, it didn't. Yay!

After the beach each day we headed to the "frog pool." Because the boys had wet swimming trunks and because we were only a few streets (inside the resort) away from the "frog pool" we let the boys sit on the floor of the second row of our van. I thought this would be exciting, a privilege, but they were concerned. Seriously. They were like, "Shouldn't we be in our seats" and "What if the police stop us? Will we go to jail?" They didn't like it, but after a time or two they got used to it, and I thought it was great fun to have all three of them right there smushed together!!!

And, if you were wondering why we call it the "frog pool" wonder no longer. . .

After the "frog pool" on the first day, we went back to the house and put the little boys down for naps. And, then, Erik and I took the big boys canoeing. . .

All was well and good, until we were actually supposed to get in the canoe. JCT freaked. No way he was getting in, so I sat on the dock with JCT and Matt (the canoe/kayak guy) and watched Erik and Joshua go for a little ride.

After 10 or so minutes they came back by and offered JCT another opportunity. And, he accepted!!! :-)

Row, row, row your boat! I am so getting one of these for the backyard!!!!

So proud of my little man for facing his fears!!

After our canoeing adventure, we went back to the beach house and took showers and headed back to the beach for pictures and dinner! Here we are walking back onto the beach. . .

A family shot. . .

or, two. . .

Daddy and his little namesake. . .

Wow! They look alike ~ my brown eyed boys! And, here is one of me and Erik. . .

Cheesy, I know, but, man, I love him!!!!!!!!!

And, we couldn't tear these two away from the water. . .

I love the beach at sunset!

Then, we ate at this neat little pizza place on the beach! Great atmosphere ~ perfect for kiddos ~ casual fun!

Mommy and me! I can't tell you how great it was to have her with us! Erik and I could always use an extra set of hands! She was great help and great fun!

Nana and the big boys who adore her. . .


Ohhhh, I can't wait to tell you what we did next!!!!!! We walked over to a little cupcake place across the street from the beach and got yummy cupcakes! It was fun to pick out our cupcakes and icing! Fun!!!!

Behind the cupcake place is a huge open area of grass where they hold concerts, etc. So, we had a little cupcake picnic on the grass!

Mr. "Cuckcake" was quite pleased with our choice of dessert. . .


After we ate, we played a little. . .

Sweet memories. . .

The next day we took my mom to the beach with us, and that was great fun, too! It wasn't sunny, but that didn't stop us!!!! Letting Erik Daniel feel the sand in between his cute little toes. . .

Still playing in the sand. . .
Erik Daniel took his morning nap on Nana at the beach. . .

More "frog pool" memories. . .

This is Erik throwing Joshua into the frog's stream of water. . .

All in all, we had a wonderful, wild, happy, loud, crazy, fun, restful, relaxing time!!!!!

Yay for the beach. . .

And, yay for great memories!!!!!!!!!